Chip (Sonic the Hedgehog)
, real name , is a fictional character from the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. He is later voiced in Japanese by Ryoko Shiraishi and in English by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Patton Oswalt. He is a primordial entity from the dawn of time and the incarnation of light, day and rebirth. Since the earth's beginning, Chip has been in an eternal conflict with Dark Gaia to protect the planet, where they maintain a cycle of destruction and rebirth of the world. In the present day, Chip was awoken prematurely by Jehan Frolo when he tried to harness Dark Gaia until he is later betrayed and killed by Revolver Ocelot, losing his memories as a result. He later met Sonic the Hedgehog Sr, Sparx, Terra and Aqua and the five of them worked together to recover Chip's memories and bring planet Earth back together after Dark Gaia shattered it. After restoring his cycle with Dark Gaia, Chip returned to dormancy. Concept and creation Chip was supposed to be named "Whip", in a reference to "whipped cream", which is the reason that whipped cream became an early design motif (for example, some early concepts had his hair like a dollop of whipped cream). However, because the word whip has different connotations in English (including the act of punishment, whipping, or suffering injury, as in the term whiplash), Sega of America was not pleased with the name, so they changed the name to Chip.http://www.tssznews.com/2009/02/21/concept-art-unleashed/ History Early life Born as Dark Gaia's opposite, Chip originates from the beginning of time and has lived on the earth since when the planet first began.Sonic Team (9 December 2008). Sonic Unleashed. PlayStation 3. Sega. Cutscene: No Reason. "Chip: Dark Gaia grows over millions of years, then rises to destroy the world. And I put it all back together. We've been doing this over and over, again and again... since the very beginning of time." While their origins are unclear, Prof. Pickle has speculated that both Chip and Dark Gaia are manifestations of the planet's desire for a balance between light and darkness.Sonic Team (9 December 2008). Sonic Unleashed. PlayStation 3. Sega. Cutscene: Save the Speech. "Prof. Pickle: We cannot live without the night. We all must sleep. We all must rest. Darkness is a part of our world, just the same as light. It may be that the darkness has not been destroyed, but merely laid to rest. It grows strong over the eons, rises up, then is put to slumber by the light. Perhaps that is the true balance of Dark and Light Gaia. That balance may be the very will of the planet itself." It was back then that Chip began his job of protecting the earth from Dark Gaia who sought its destruction, starting an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth of the planet. In this cycle, Chip would awaken from the planet's core after Dark Gaia had incubated in it for millions of years and broken the planet apart during the time of awakening. Chip would then return Dark Gaia to dormancy in the planet's core, rebuild the planet, and go back to sleep in the core again, thus restarting the cycle. Despite his many years of duty, Chip never came to learn about the earth itself. Some tens of thousands of years ago, Chip had just finished another cycle of destruction and recreation of the world with Dark Gaia, before returning to dormancy for Dark Gaia's return. ''Sonic Unleashed'' In Sonic Unleashed, he (apparently) loses his memory after Sonic Sr lands on top of him in his heavy Werehog form via the escape pod in London. Chip then follows Sonic Sr on his journey in the hopes of regaining his memory. Along the way, he develops a love for Chocolate Chip Sundaes and chocolate, thus, Sonic Sr gives him the name "Chip". If Chip is given enough food, he may ask Sonic Sr a light-hearted and funny question. He will also give feedback depending upon the meal that he has eaten, whether he likes it. . . or not! If Chip is given the proper food, he may give Sonic Sr a humorous video that has to do with the two characters and a particular food. Although Chip only spends a brief time with Sonic Sr in comparison to other characters, the two become good friends, this is especially noted in the end credits song Dear my Friend and in many cutscenes throughout the game. Chip is characterized as naive, curious and very good hearted, often asking simple but ponderous questions and becoming very angry with Revolver Ocelot's schemes after he killed President Henry Pickle. Although Chip would like to give troublemaker a real fight, he is also relatively scared of the doctor, and even cowers behind Sonic Sr, still flaunting his fists at him from behind his newfound cover. Chip enjoys the slower things of life. From eating good food to taking pictures and enjoying the view, he even has his picture taken by Sonic in front of the Eggmanland statue in Tokyo, an idea that Sonic Sr doesn't oppose despite their disliking of Eggman. After putting back the sixth continent, Chip remembers that his real name is Light Gaia. Every few million years, he and Dark Gaia awake. Dark Gaia destroys the planet and he has to put it back together. Chip states that when Jehan Frollo split the earth apart before he is betrayed and killed by Revolver Ocelot, he and Dark Gaia were awakened too early, leading to both Dark Gaia's disintegration and Chip's own amnesia. When Dark Gaia is revived, Chip calls upon the power of the seven Sacred Temples and creates the Gaia Colossus. He restrains Dark Gaia long enough for Sonic Sr to attack him. After Dark Gaia is defeated by Super Sonic Sr, Chip sends Sonic back to the surface of the earth, and then goes back to sleep. However he is later kidnapped by Gaul and taken to the ruined Russian base in Moscow. After Sonic Sr's encasement, all that gets left behind is his necklace which Tails puts on his wrist before joining with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Terra and Aqua to create a copy of the hedgehog, Copy Sonic the Hedgehog. Chip also appears in the Sonic Unleashed short called Night of the Werehog, and as an equippable Buddy in Sonic Runners. In other media ''Sonic World Adventure'' (manga) Chip is the main character from Sonic World Adventure that is based on Sonic Unleashed. Similar to in Sonic Unleashed, Chip was found laying on the ground by Sonic when he fell from space. When they met, Chip got scared off by his werehog form and punched Sonic's eyes, telling him that he tasted bad. Chip then realized Sonic was a "gentle person" and became overjoyed when Sonic agreed to get his memory back, promoting Chip to go on about how it was Sonic's fault he lost his memories and he now had to give him ice cream. At the day time they stop in Apotos, Chip rushed ahead seeking ice cream. When he found an ice cream vendor and his shop, Chip demanded ice cream rabidly, accidentally destroying the shop in his eagerness. When Sonic got there, Chip desperately asked for ice cream, until Sonic promised the crying ice cream vendor they would fix his shop later. Sonic and Chip left to find materials for the repairs, but while Chip was happy to help, he kept finding food instead of construction material, forcing Sonic to repeatedly scold him and eventually kick him in the head. After Sonic destroyed some Egg Fighters, Chip gave Sonic the idea to use the scrap metal to fix the shop. Once Sonic had rebuilt and improve the shop with robot parts, Chip wanted to be the first customer, but when he reached there, the Egg Fighter (who was the shop) began shooting with ice cream. Archie Comics In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, much like in the games, Chip is an ancient spirit mean to help the world whenever it shatters every ten thousand years. Following the occurrence of the Shattered World Crisis, Chip reawakened, but due to the planet's shattering having gone awry, he got amnesia. He was soon after found by Knuckles and the Chaotix and brought to the Freedom Fighters who helped him restore the planet while showing him the wonders of the world. Relationships Sonic the Hedgehog Sr Chip's closest and dearest friend is Sonic the Hedgehog. When Chip first saw Sonic Sr, he was initially frightened of him due to seeing him in his Werehog form, but soon realized he was a nice guy. When Sonic Sr told Chip he would help get his memories back, Chip quickly took a liking to Sonic and thanked him whole-hearted. Additionally, Chip subconsciously sensed the innate goodness in Sonic Sr and wanted him to help him."You never give in to the night, or to the darkness inside your heart. I think it's because I knew that about you. That's why I wanted you to help." - Chip, Sonic Unleashed. Chip spend all his time by Sonic's side following that, and slowly built up a great friendship with him. Chip also enjoys engaging in friendly competition with Sonic, such as when they fought over the last meat bun in Chun-nan. However, Chip sometimes proved to be an annoyance to Sonic due to his naïve bluntness and disturbing him at inconvenient times, though he never had any mean intention. Also, when he accidentally made Sonic depressed about his Werehog form, Chip tried his best cheer him up. After recovering his memories, Chip was deeply grateful to Sonic for all he had done for him. However, he did not want Sonic to get himself needlessly involved with his conflict with Dark Gaia and as such tried to leave on his own. However, he was convinced by Sonic to let help him anyway, which Chip thanked him for. During their battle with Dark Gaia, Chip prioritized Sonic's well-being whenever he was weak, such as when he was weakened by the energy drain Dark Gaia or when he fell unconscious from beating Perfect Dark Gaia. When the last continent came down and they had to depart, Chip only wished for Sonic to live on and gave a heartfelt goodbye before sending him back to the surface. There, Chip contacted Sonic telepathically, telling him that he would never forget him and that he would always be with him. Friends *Sonic the Hedgehog Sr (best friend) *Miles "Tails" Prower *President Henry Pickle (deceased) *President George W. Bush *Amy Rose *Vice President Peter William *Terra (S.H.I.E.L.D.) *Aqua (S.H.I.E.L.D.) *Sparx the Dragonfly *Ignitus the Flame Guardian Enemies *Revolver Ocelot *Dark Gaia *Wu ("Sonic: Night of the Werehog") *Su ("Sonic: Night of the Werehog") Trivia *A Souvenir, fashioned after Chip, called the "Chehaya Charm" can be bought from the Flying Fish Beach Shop in Adabat on the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 of Sonic Unleashed. The description of this object hints towards Chip's true identity as Light Gaia. *Chip was first seen in the Japanese manga adaption of Sonic Unleashed. *Throughout Sonic Unleashed, Chip uses the same camera that Su and Wu used in Sonic: Night of the Werehog. *Chip is one of the two oldest characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the other being Dark Gaia. *Sonic's naming of Chip after the ice-cream he was eating is similar in nature to how Sonic gave Emerl its name. *In the manga that was based on Sonic Unleashed, Chip speaks in third-person, saying things like "Chip wants ice cream!" rather than "I want ice cream!" like in the video game, he would talk in third-person and often refer to himself as "Chip" instead of "Me," "Mine," or "I." This is also apparent in the Japanese version of the game, though this is after Sonic gives Chip his nickname. *In Downtown New York City Act 2 in Sonic Generations, Chip's name can be spotted on a sign. *The PlayStation 2 Memory Card Icon for Sonic Unleashed is Chip himself. *Chip is among the few characters in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series who go barefoot. *When Chip is explaining the "Time of awakening" to Sonic after regaining his memories in the Japanese version of the game, he pluralizes his name "Chip" and continues saying that they, "Chips", have been sealing Dark Gaia into the core of the planet since a distant past. This seems to imply that Chip is not the only "Light Gaia". *In Spagonia University, when Chip is lamenting over how hungry Professor Pickle must be in Eggman's custody (and how he'd rather be dead than starving), his spirit is briefly separated from his body in the form of a ghost. Whether this is one of his powers, or was simply done for comedic effect, is unknown. References Category:Fictional demigods Category:Sega protagonists Category:Sonic the Hedgehog characters Category:Video game characters in comics Category:Fictional dogs Category:Video game characters introduced in 2008 Category:Video game sidekicks Category:Male characters in video games Category:Animal characters in video games Category:Anthropomorphic animal characters Category:Anthropomorphic characters in video games